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Surgeons at Gettysburg

I’ve been researching the surgeons at Gettysburg field hospitals for inclusion in Pocket Gettysburg. One of the best sources is “A Vast Sea of Misery” by Gregory A. Coco (Gettsyburg: Thomas Publications, 1988). As always when I add a new source to Pocket Gettysburg, I try to reconcile that new data with the my previous sources, including especially the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) and the inscriptions on battlefield monuments.

Using the exact spelling of the names in “A Vast Sea of Misery,” some of the surgeons were not found in those other sources. But in the subset of cases listed below I found some other evidence of his possible identity. While I don’t have any plans to research these people further, the data is recorded here for posterity in the hopes that it helps some future researchers.

Other than John H. Beech of the 24th Michigan (see next), the CWSS lists only one surgeon in the AOP* with a similar** surname: “Elias W. H. Beck” of the 3rd Indiana Cavalry. Of course, Coco did not say that this surgeon was in the army.

The 18th SC Inf. was not at Gettysburg. The CWSS lists a surgeon “James F. Pearce/Pierce” (aka “James T. Pearce/Pierce”) who at one time was attached to the 8th SC Inf. It also lists a surgeon “J.F. Pearce” who was at one time attached to the 3rd SC Inf.

The 7th VA Inf. was in the 1st Corps, AONV at Gettysburg. The CWSS does list a surgeon “Isaac Scott” who was at one time attached to the 7th WV Inf. (1B, 3D, 2C, AOP), however. The only surgeons with a similar name that were listed by the CWSS in the AONV were “A. Howard Scott” who was at one time attached to the 4th AL Inf. (1st Corps) and “A.H. Scott” (aka “A.J. Scott”) who was at one time attached to the 4th TX Inf. (also 1st Corps).

The only surgeon listed in the CWSS in the 52nd NC Inf. with a similar surname is “H. Warren”. The only confederate surgeon listed in the CWSS with a similar surname and the initials of “L.P.” was “Lewellen P. Warren” who was at one time attached to the 26th NC Inf. (see above).